At one point, the health and wellness industry advised eating five to six small meals per day for optimal metabolism. The claim was that smaller meals lead to weight loss, while a fasted state puts the body into “starvation mode,” causing it to hold on to calories.

New research now reveals the exact opposite — that fasting (the practice of going extended periods without food) may boost metabolism, improve insulin sensitivity and help transition your body into a fat-burning state.

Intermittent fasting works similar to a ketogenic diet, depriving your body of glucose to transition to a fat-burning state. Fasting has many health benefits, including weight loss, fat loss and balanced blood sugar. It might prevent Alzheimer’s and chronic diseases and lead to a longer lifespan[*]. Many proponents of fasting say that mentally, fasting is easier to handle than counting calories. Intermittent fasting is extremely popular among those following low carb diets like keto because it helps induce a state of ketosis[*].

There are multiple approaches to fasting. You’ll learn about each intermittent fasting schedule below, and how they benefit individuals based on their goals, lifestyle and activity level.

Types of Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is a cycle between eating within a certain window of time, then abstaining from food for a defined time period. The length and frequency of your fasting window will depend on the approach you take.

Daily Window Fasting

A daily window fasting protocol involves eating within a certain time period, usually lasting eight to 10 hours, every day of the week. One such method, commonly called the 16/8 fasting, involves eating all meals within eight hours, then not eating the remaining 16 hours of the day. For example, an individual could eat breakfast at 10 a.m. and dinner at 6 p.m., then fast until breakfast the next day.

If you’re new to fasting, you might consider lengthening your eating window. Start with 10 hours (for example, eating breakfast at 9 a.m. and dinner at 7 p.m.) and progress from there. Those experienced with fasting might conduct 20-hour fasts, eating within just a four-hour time frame.

With daily window fasting, consistency matters more than the length of your eating window. Veteran fasters might eat one large meal per day (23:1), while an individual just starting out may eat within 10 hours. The key is to repeat the same cycle of fasting and eating periods each day of the week.

Daily Window Fasting Schedules

Try these various schedules, selecting the eating plan that works best for your lifestyle and experience with fasting. Remember to repeat the same cycle every day.

Skipping Meals

If you’re new to intermittent fasting and the practice intimidates you, a good gateway is to skip meals. If you eat a large dinner, try skipping breakfast. If you’re busy midday, skip lunch and eat an early dinner.

While conventional wisdom once told us never to skip meals and labeled breakfast as the “most important meal of the day,” new research is questioning these beliefs. Skipping meals can boost your metabolism, not hinder it. It seems that skipping breakfast could be just as beneficial as skipping dinner (so take your pick)[*].

When you skip one meal, be extra careful to not overeat at the next. The goal of skipping meals is to become an intuitive eater — eating only when you are hungry, not simply because it’s “that time” to enjoy a meal. It’s an not an excuse to binge at your next sit-down meal, or practice other forms of disordered eating.

Skipping Meals Schedule

If you choose to skip meals rather than adhere to a regular fasting schedule, your eating schedule might look different each day of the week. Start by skipping one meal when you’re not hungry, then aim to skip several meals scattered throughout the week.

Fasting on Alternate Days

Alternate-day fasting consists of fasting one day, then eating regularly the next. On this schedule, your caloric intake on fasting days will be roughly 25% of your usual calories. For example, if you typically eat a 2,000 calorie diet, you will limit your calorie intake to 500 calories during your fasting time.

In a study done by the National Institute of Health, there were many success stories associated with alternate-day fasts. In fact, alternate-day fasting was shown as more effective than calorie restriction, or following a consistent low-calorie diet. It was also shown to increase life span, maintain muscle mass and decrease inflammation [*].

Alternate-Day Fasting Schedule

To stick to an alternate-day fasting schedule, follow the cycle outlined below. You can start any day of the week as long as the cycle remains the same. While only four days are listed, keep the cycle going throughout the entire week.

Day 1: Eat 25% of usual calories (roughly 500 calories throughout the day)

Day 2: Eat 1,600 – 2,000 calories

Day 3: Eat 25% of usual calories (roughly 500 calories throughout the day)

Day 4: Eat 1,600 – 2,000 calories

24-Hour Fasting

For a 24-hour fast (also called eat stop eat), you will select one day per week and not eat on that particular day week to week. For example, you could eat breakfast at 7 a.m. on Mondays, then not eat until 7 a.m. on Tuesdays. If this seems to extreme to you, you could aim to eat in the middle of the day, around 2 p.m., so it doesn’t feel as though you’re going an entire day without eating.

The 24-hour fasting approach has been shown to be extremely effective at losing body fat. Most individuals only do one 24-hour fast per week. Those who are experienced with fasting may choose up to two separate days per week to conduct a 24-hour fast. However, there are conflicting claims as to whether going 48 hours without food in a single week might is helpful or harmful[*].

24-Hour Fasting Schedule

To complete a 24-hour fast, choose the day that you are least physically active. Perhaps choose a rest day from the gym, or a day where you will do light yoga rather than rigorous exercise. A fast schedule might include:

Frequency of Intermittent Fasting

Now that you understand how to implement an intermittent fasting schedule, it raises a question: How often should you fast?

The answer varies from individual to individual. Most individuals implement the above schedules every week or every other week. If you’re new to fasting, start with a moderate schedule, trying it every other week or every three weeks. If your body adapts well, aim for a regular, weekly schedule.

There’s no wrong answer here. Pay close attention to how your body responds to your fasting schedule, and adjust as needed. Keep in mind that life changes can happen. You may need to tweak your schedule to allow for social gatherings, vacations and physical activity or competition.

A Final Note on Calories and Nutrition

When implementing an intermittent fasting schedule, make sure you get enough calories during your eating windows. Be mindful of what you’re eating in between fasting periods, focusing on real, whole foods so you get the most nutrients per calorie.

Fasting is no excuse to skimp on optimal nutrition. In fact, since you are eating less, you should aim to get the most nutrients you possibly can extract from those meals. Don’t allow fasting to be the reason to eat donuts, soda and candy.

Key Takeaways

No one way of fasting is perfect for everyone, but just about any healthy person can benefit from intermittent fasting. Those who are intimidated by an intermittent fasting schedule might try skipping meals, then moving into a 16:8 fast. If you find these beneficial, move on to an alternate-day fast where you still consume 500 calories on fasting days. Finally, try a full 24-hour fast one day per week.

Intermittent fasting is generally safe to do as often as you’d like. Just make sure you’re eating enough food in between and eating whole foods. And lastly, don’t be afraid to experiment and find what works best for you.

Post navigation

Responses (14)

Heathersays:

Ive been fasting 16/8 for 5 days now and havnt had a bowel movement in this time. I have not changed my diet..just the times. I break-fast at 12-1pm. I have a very slow bowel transit and constantly battle with constipation. I did have this under control by eating oats with added bran,prunes and rhubarb every morning, drinking only water all day (between 2-3 litres) and watching what I eat the rest of the day ie healthy tasty food with vegetables and pulses seem to work for me. Stick to that religiously and I’ll go everyday. Stray and I won’t. I’m 53 5’5 and 10st 13lb. I want to lose 1st. I have osteoarthritis and lots of pain on exercise so take it easy but am relativly active. Can anyone offer any advice please. I don’t want to give this up. I don’t ‘diet and IF seems to suit me

Adalberto Delaskosays:

Awesome Post!! I am happy that I came across with your site this article is on point,thanks for sharing and have a fantastic day.

Paulasays:

I have the same problem. Now I take magnesium like Natural Calm and now they have Natural Calm Gut Health. So it’s got some probiotics. That and I’ll add just a dash/sprinkle of miralax. I take this right before I go to bed and let it work all night.

Robinsays:

There are some really good recipes out there that include psyllium husk in them. Really good. That will help you. Also make sure you eat some green veggies. Too much protein will be hard on the digestive system. Suggest you pick up the beginners keto diet cookbook by Martina Slajerova. The jalapeño cheese muffins are the best.

I been fasting for a month every day every 24hr is that bad or good

Maxine huntingsays:

You need to eat more fat and very low carbs

Nikisays:

I blend 2 cups collard greens , chai seeds, applesauce unsweetened, prunes , plain fage yogurt, almond milk. I used to have the worst constipation all of my life and this blend wit two teaspoons of garden of life magnesium powder and I have not had an issue since!! Try it for my people that have had terrible digestive issues with constipation . I do intermittent fasting where my window to eat is is 2 to 1030 pm everyday with Whole Foods . Hope this helps someone

Claudia Arenasays:

I have a green drink with psyllium, chia, spinach,fresh ginger, kale and a lemon squeeze.
I may add a protein mix(vanilla or choc.) with mint leaves. Never have an issue. Drink LOTS and Lots of water..

Maleehasays:

Tylersays:

Hi,

My wife has the same problem. What we did to fix it is blend about 1 cup cooked spinach, 500 grams berries, 1 cup flax seed, 1/2 cup blackstrap molasses (MUST be blackstrap) and enough coconut water to fill the blender to the top. Blend fully then divide into 7 small containers and freeze. Thaw one over night and drink in that morning. My wife used to go every 3 days, now she goes daily or sometimes 2 times a day. Part of the reason is that blackstrap molasses is a natural laxative and so is all that fiber. Blackstrap also gives you a pretty decent dose of very bioavailable iron.